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I saw it once in the theatre and once on IMAX, and if you get the chance I definitely recommend seeing it on an IMAX screen. The picture quality is amazing, and the audio is SOOOO much better.

This is definitely the best film I've seen in a really long time. It seems to be one of those films people can't stop talking about long after they've left the theatre. I felt that it was totally worth the $12 I dropped at Jordan Commons.

Without spoiling anything, the hotel/elevator scene is AMAZING! I really hope they do a behind the scenes that explains how those sequences were shot. Very cool.

I agree. Looks does just that, ads a look. It does not grade. If you use Color you will see there are rooms to go from one to the next and the last one is where you add a look. If you don't want to learn Color use the Three way Color Corrector and then looks. If you want to learn Color check out Creative COW's training DVD, Stop Staring and Start Grading with Apple Color: store.creativecow.net/p/66/stop_staring_...ing_with_apple_color

Not yet. The tape to which I captured everything is being digitized and turned into hundreds of DVD's for teenage theatre students along with the other live stage performances of that night. But I'll get my hands on a copy very soon. I'll make sure to let everyone know.

Here's the long explanation from Joe Rogan to the Neutrino community at large.

Hey all,

I'm just writing to offer a report on how our Neutrino Project went. Overall, it was a complete success, and the kids had a fantastic time. We did, in fact, film the entire project using FlipCameras. We used a total of 10 cameras (one for each scene), and just had the runners run each camera to the booth, instead of a tape or SD card. The picture quality was surprisingly good (especially the one HD FlipCamera we used), but the sound quality was terrible. During rehearsals, though, the kids learned they had to speak incredibly loud, and it worked out in the end (we just couldn't film in echoey rooms, and we had to move most scenes inside if it was windy).

Connor can probably do a better job of explaining what he did in the booth, but I think I can provide the basic details. One of the other teachers suggested we try the VJ program "QLab," which we ended up using for the show. We purchased a temporary license for the program, at only $2 per day. He had a total of three computers running throughout the show. Two of the computers ran QLab, and a third was playing a continuous loop of B-Roll (the rotating N) and transition music just using Quicktime and iTunes. All three computers were routed through a video mixer, which sent output to our projector/sound system, a preview monitor, and a recording device. As cameras came in, they were hooked up to the QLab computers, which placed the files into simple playlists (the files were played right off the cameras, and were not copied onto the computer hard drives). This gave the cinematographers the ability to do some in-camera editing, and if any mistakes were made (like the actors weren't ready at the start of a take, or the director says "cut" at the end), the runners could relay a message to Connor, and he could adjust the start and end times of the files (I'm pretty sure he had the ability to preview these changes on his monitor). QLab also allowed Connor to see exactly how much time was left on each scene, but we still asked the cinematographers to start and end each scene on static images. After each scene, we transitioned to the B-Roll, mainly to add some music to the show, and because Conner says the B-Roll computer reduced the amount of simultaneous button-pushing required to transition from scene to scene. I think, though, that if we had more time to play around with QLab, we could have figured out ways to add background music to the clips themselves, and we might have eliminated the B-Roll altogether. We also could have had a computer just dedicated to background music, but this probably would have required a second technician. It might also have been possible to eliminate the need for a second QLab computer and video mixer, and run the whole thing off a single computer.

I can't really speak for Connor, but it seems like the difficulty of this setup (using cameras that record to solid-state drives) is on par with using miniDV tapes, and the solid-state setup may even provide some benefits that miniDV doesn't offer (e.g. no need to rewind tapes, and greater control over editing in the booth). With practice, I predict that technicians might even be able to add sound and video effects to scenes with this approach. The biggest benefit, though, was the cost. I won't say that our setup was cheaper, but rather that it was cheap for us to put together. I don't know a ton of people with miniDV cameras, but I do know plenty of people with laptops and flipcameras. Almost everything was borrowed at no cost. Our only expenses were cables/connectors and the software license. Most groups would probably have to fork out cash for the video mixer, but this is true for the miniDV setup, as well. Plus, this setup is scalable. If a group wanted to start with FlipCameras, they could add more advanced cameras (either solid state or miniDV) into the mix one piece at a time.

Thanks to everyone for your comments, suggestions, and support. I hope our experiences were useful to you.

-Sincerely,
Joe Rogan

If you're a video guy and you happen across a team of 6 improv performers, I urge you to try the neutrino project.


The following is taken from my blog:

"The Neutrino Project is a completely improvised, 30 minute film using 3 teams of improvisers who each produce 3 scenes of the film.

Joe Rogan of Jokyr and Jesster fame has been training our YTU students on the art of improvised filmmaking for the past 3 weeks. Meanwhile I have been training myself on the usage of Qlab software and stealing video mixers from Jared Wright in order to make this happen.

The grand equipment list includes 10 FlipVideo cameras, 4 MacBook Pro laptops, a video mixer and a projector all crammed in the balcony of Kingsbury Hall.

The show is on August 6th at 7:00pm on the Kingsbury Stage. Come support Annie, Autumn, Cate, Jaxon, Josh and Vanessa and see their improvised films wind up in the capable hands of me, your video mix-master."

We got the whole video mix recorded to DV tape thanks to a firewire out on the mixer so expect it on youtube or something soon.

-Connor

It was worth a theatre visit. The vast amount of CG didn't bother me much because there was an "other worldly" quality about most of the scenes. Not quite as fabricated as "Avatar" mind you but enough to justify using some clever CG images. Visually the film is very gripping and I think it would lose some of its power on a TV screen.

I just bought it and I've played around with it a little but I'm hoping to grade my short film "Wastage" and make it look super legit for festivals. The problem is, I'm not quite sure how to use everything it offers but it seems like a simpler interface than Apple Color, which I also have.

Right now the film looks really raw and I'm hoping to make it look a bit more finished. Any tips on how to bridge the gap between the "in camera" look and the "looks good on a 56" HDTV" look?

As of right now I am only working on small projects so I have my footage on three stripped Raptors. They are fast but you don't get a whole lot of room but again I am working on small projects. I then use Apple's Time Machine to backup the stripped Raid. For over all long term storage,archive, and protection I use my drobo. Its all cool little device.

Raptor:
www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item...22-136-322-_-Product

Drobo
drobo.com/

drobo.com/resources/drobodemo.php

I too am looking into probably changing up the way I do hard drives in the next year and was looking into "CalDigit." 500 Days of summer was cut using their products and their prices seem very responsible.

www.caldigit.com/products.asp

I don't get out to the movie theater very often these days so maybe my standards are to high but I felt Salt would be better as a rental. I would say why but it would ruin the movie.

I am currently in the market for a new Hard Drive system for storing and archiving, and I was wondering what other editors in the area are using?

We currently use LaCie d2 quadra drives, which are working ok, but out of the thirty or so we have around the office, three have completely failed. We are looking at moving to a tower system with built in redundancy, but I would really like to hear from people who have used this system with a Final Cut Pro workflow.

What are the benefits compared with just purchasing two Lacie drives and creating a clone of the drive after each project is complete?

As an editor, what are you using, and how is it working for your workflow?

Any questions, comments, horror stories or cautionary tales are very welcome. Thanks for all your help in advance.

Alan Lucchetti
UtahHighDef.com
White Rabbit Productions

Yeah, I have to say...I'm tiered of sitting next to the person who texts or talks during a movie. Much nicer at home where I can also take a bathroom break.

Check out the Digital Juice Wall Explosion tutorial for Motion. Plus, if you leave a comment you can win a iPad.

Any one seen Inception? What did you think of it? Is it worth $9?